Film splicing mechanism



OGL 21, 1969 A. A. LEVENSON, JR

FILM SPLICING MECHNISM Original Filed Dec. 27, 1963 (uw (bhw www ANN QN INVENTOR.

3,473,994 SPlLlClING MECHANISM Albert A. Levenson, Jr., Worth, ill., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York @riginal application Dec. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 333,846, now lPatent No. 3,419,453, dated Dec. 31, 1968. Divided and this application May 23, 1968, Ser. No. 731,407 int. Cl. B65h 19/08; 1531i 5/00 US. Cl. 156-504 7 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DS'CLUSURE A splicing mechanism for joining the trailing end of a film web on a supply roll which is being exhausted to the end of a web on a fresh supply reel, which mechanism is characterized by a pair of laterally spaced supply reel mountings and normally spaced web clamping rolls, one of which is mounted for reciprocable movement so as to close on the co-operating clamping roll which is driven, with an actuating mechanism responsive to the tension in the web which is being exhausted as it is drawn between the clamping rolls, the leading end of the web on the fresh reel which is to be spliced to the trailing end of the feeding web being initially positioned between the rolls with a length of sticky tape suicient to connect the web ends when they are clamped together between the rolls so as to join the Web ends without interrupting the travel of the web.

This application is a division of Ser. No. 333,846, filed Dec. 27, 1963, now Patent No. 3,419,453.

This invention relates to mechanism for handling strip or web material and is particularly concerned with improvements in a splicing device for connecting the trailing end of an exhausted roll of exible film material with the leading end of a fresh roll of the material.

It is an object of the invention to provide a web splicing mechanism which is particularly adapted for use in cornbination with bag making machines or the like, which operates automatically to connect the leading end of a new roll of web material to the trailing end of a web on an old roll while the latter is unwinding and before the trailing end passes through the splicing mechanism.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the web splicing mechanism which is shown `by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front side elevation of a web splicing mechanism which incorporates therein the principal features of the invention, portions of the mechanism being broken away; and

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation showing the web splicing mechanism.

The mechanism illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 is particularly adapted to be used with a machine which fabricates successive containers or bags from a stock material which is in the form of an endless web W of relatively flexible, heat scalable attened tubular material. The stock material is supplied on reels 13 and 13' in the form of a web W and is Preferably a transparent nlm of cellophane, rubber hydrochloride or a like thermo# plastic lm material and it is preferably supplied as a preformed, extruded, seamless tube, adapted to be fed to a bag making machine.

The supply reels 13 and 13' for the web material W are supported at the one end of a horizontally disposed frame 11 on cross shafts 21 and 21 extending from two upstanding leg portions on a vertically disposed bracket plate 22 which is connected at its lower margins to a nited States Patent O ricel small support frame 23 which is in turn supported within the frame 11 for adjustable sliding movement laterally of the frame 11 on v.a pair of parallel cross rods 24 and 24'. An adjusting shaft 25 has a threaded connection with the support frame 23 and a hand wheel 26 to facilitate adjustment for different widths of stock material W. The web W passes through the flying splice mechanism 14 and then advances to the bag forming machine or other apparatus to which it is to be fed, the latter including Web Ifeeding draw rolls which normally pull the web from the supply reel 13 or 13 and advance or draw the same through the mechanism 14.

The splicing apparatus 14 is mounted on a vertically disposed base plate 210 which is generally triangular in shape and which is supported on the front face of the bracket plate 22 beneath the reel supports 21 and 21. The apparatus in the position shown is adjusted to feed the web W from the reel 13 while the leading end of the reserve web W is in position for splicing when the web W is exhausted from the reel 13. The apparatus comprises entry or lead-in rollers 211 and 212 which are mounted on support arms 213 and 214 pivotally mounted at 215 and 216 between the base plate 210 and a pair of vertically disposed, parallel front plates 217 and 218. The arms 213 and 214 carry tail pieces 220 and 221 and the latter members are adapted to engage or disengage in operative relation switches 222 and 223. The switches 222 and 223 are mounted with their operating buttons in the path of movement of the tail pieces 220 and 221 when the rollers 221 and 212 are lifted by tension in the webs W and W', respectively. At the start of the operation the roller 211 is lifted by the web W so as to break the contact with the switch 222 while the roller 212 is in the normal non-operative down position due to the lack of tension in the web W and the switch 223 is closed. A draw roll 224 is mounted on a shaft 225 below the pivot point 216. The shaft 225 extends through the base plate 210, and the vertical reel support plate 22 and has a sliding key connection with a hollow drive shaft 226 journaled in the upstanding arms of a U-shaped bearing bracket 227 mounted at the rear of the plate 22. The hollow shaft or sleeve 226 carries a sprocket 22S which is connected by a drive chain with a sprocket on a driven shaft of the bag making machine so as to continuously drive the roller 224. A pair of pressure rollers 232 and 233 are mounted in freely rotatable and vertically aligned relation below the driven roller 224 so as to provide a vertical path for the web below the driven roller 224. On the other side of the apparatus a co-operating feed roll 234 is mounted on a shaft 235 which is journaled in the isde arms of a U-shaped supporting frame 236. The frame 236 is mounted for horizontal sliding movement in vertically spaced gibs 237 and connected to the end of piston 238 of an air cylinder 240. The air cylinder 240 is mounted on a suitable bracket at the side of the base plate 210. A pair of pressure rollers 241 and 242 are mounted on 4brackets 243 extending below the bracket 236. These rollers are vertically aligned and mounted for free rotation in oppositely disposed relation to the rollers 232 and 233. The air cylinder 240 is controlled by an electrically operated air valve through a timer circuit which includes the switches 222 and 223.

In the operation of the web splicing apparatus 14 the free end of the web W is provided with a transverse strip of sticky tape 244 and remains in the position shown in FIGURE 1 until the web W, which is feeding, is exhausted from the reel 13 and the tension in this web is relieved. When the tension is relieved the roll 211 drops and closes the switch 222 which actuates the valve controlling the cylinder 24u so as to move the roller carrying frame 236 to the left in FIGURE 1 and bring the feed roll 234 into engagement with the driven feed roll 224. This clamps the web W and the end of the web W between the rolls 224 and 234 and starts the feed of the web W', the sticky tape 244 serving to hold the two webs together as the leading and trailing portions thereof progress through the machine. The operation of the valve 240 is timed so as to retract the rolls 234 after a predetermined amount of the new web W' has been fed into the machine. The exhausted reel 13 may then be removed from the support 21 and a new reel with a new supply of the web put in place. The end of the new web is threaded over the rolls 211 and 215 and between the rolls 224 and 234 in the same manner as shown for web W in FIGURE 1 whereupon the webs will be automatically spliced when the web W is exhausted.

While in the apparatus illustrated the web W is in the form of a flattened tube of plastic lm material, the splicing apparatus is not limited in its use to the particular material referred to but it may be employed in connection with the feeding of other material in continuous web or strip form.

I claim:

1. In a machine for feeding web material which cornprises an upright frame, a pair of stock roll supports at one end of the frame, each receiving a roll of stock material which is adapted to be drawn therefrom and advanced along a predetermined path, a splice forming device disposed below the stock roll supports, which splice forming device includes laterally spaced, vertically disposed support plates, a driven draw roll journaled at its ends in said support plates, a co-operating idler draw roll, a supporting frame for said idler draw roll which is slidably mounted between said support plates for carrying said idler draw roll into and out of engagement with said driven draw roll, an air cylinder for moving said idler roll supporting frame toward and from said driven draw roll, means to operate said air cylinder including a pair of switches and a pair of pivotally mounted switch operating arm members having rolls over which the stock material is fed from the stock rolls, said arm members being arranged to actuate the switches in accordance with the longitudinal tension in the stock material as it is drawn from the respective stock rolls.

2. In a machine for feeding strip material which is in the form of a continuous web, said machine comprising an upright frame, a pair of roll supports at one end of the frame, each receiving a roll of web material, a splice forming device beneath the stock roll supports, which splice forming device includes laterally spaced, vertically disposed support plates, a driven draw roll rotatably mounted between said support plates, a co-operating idler draw roll, a supporting frame for said idler draw roll, means slidably mounting said idler draw roll supporting frame between said support plates for movement toward and from said driven draw roll, a uid motor for moving said idler draw roll supporting frame, said driven draw roll and said co-operating idler draw roll normally dening a path for web material from each of the stock rolls with one web being advanced and a leading end of the other web suspended between said driven draw roll and the idler draw roll, control means for said fluid motor including a pair of switches, and means for operating the switches in accordance with a predetermined change in the longitudinal tension in the material being advanced from the stock rolls.

3. Apparatus for feeding web material to a machine for fabricating bags or the like which comprises an upright frame, a pair of roll supports on the frame, each adapted to receive a roll of stock material in continuous web form, a pair of draw rolls mounted on the frame t'or advancing the web, a splice forming device adjacent the stock roll supports, which splice forming device includes vertically disposed frame members, a driven roil journaled in said frame members, a co-operating idler roll, said driven roll and said idler roll being normally positioned on opposite sides of a path traveled by said webs and being spaced apart so as to permit one web to travel between the same and the leading end of the other web to depend between the same so that when the rolls are closed on each other both webs will be clamped together. .l supporting means for said idler roll which is slidably mounted in said frame members for movement toward and from said driven roll, means for moving said idler roll supporting means toward and from said driven idler roll which is responsive to longitudinal tension in the material as it is drawn from the stock rolls.

4. Apparatus for feeding web material as set forth in claim 3, and said means for moving said idler roll supporting means comprising operating switches and 'eb supporting arm members which actuate said switches.

5. Apparatus for feeding web material as set forth in claim 3, and said means for moving said idler roll supporting means including operating switches and pivoted arm members having their ends engaging the web which arm members are swung to operate the switches when the longitudinal tension is relieved in the material as it is drawn from the stock rolls.

6. Apparatus for feeding web material as set forth an claim 2, and the means for operating the switches including movable switch actuators each adapted for engagement with a web and operative to actuate the associated switch while the leading end of the web is suspended between the draw roll and the idler roll, each said actuator being moved to non-actuating position when the driven draw roll and idler draw roll are closed on the web and the web is tensioned as it is drawn between said rolls, and said actuator being moved to switch actuating position upon the tension being relieved by advance of the trailing `end of the web.

7. Apparatus for feeding web material as set forth in claim 6, and said control means including a time delay means which automatically separates the driven draw roll and the co-operating idler draw roll at a predetermined time after a splice is formed to enable the leading end of a fresh web to be suspended between the open draw rolls in position for forming a subsequent splice.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DOUGLAS J. DRUMMOND, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 156-505 

